KATHMANDU, MARCH 4 Six months after the Gen Z revolution in Nepal, which unseated the Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli-led government backed by the Nepali Congress, the polling stations in Nepal have been prepared for tomorrow's (March 5, Thursday) nationwide election for 275 new members of Lower House of Federal Parliament. As per the Election Commission (EC), voters will be able to cast their ballots starting at 7:00am. At the polling centres, there will be separate lines for men and women. According to the commission, there will be 10,967 polling centres and 23,112 polling stations across the country. Vote counting centres are being built in some locations in addition to polling places. Wire mesh has been used to secure counting sites due to previous incidents. In order to ensure efficient administration on election eve, all-party gatherings and security patrols have also been stepped up in some areas. According to the commission, preparations have been made to ensure senior citizens, those with disabilities, and people with chronic illnesses receive priority during voting. Helicopters have been used to deliver election materials to isolated mountainous areas. According to the EC, plans have been made to use a helicopter to transport ballot boxes from 61 different polling places to the counting centre. According to the EC, plans have been made to gather ballots from 61 polling places spread across 15 districts, ranging from Taplejung to Darchula. The commission previously reported that staff and ballots were also transported by helicopter to 27 polling places. Addressing a press conference to divulge information on election preparations today, the EC confirmed that everything was ready for the election. Ram Prasad Bhandari, acting chief commissioner of the EC, stated that the conducive atmosphere has been created for confident voting. The election commission has stated that the voting will take place till 5:00pm. Bhandari stated that the results would be announced within 24 hours following the start of ballot box counting. He did not specify when the ballot boxes would be collected and delivered to the counting centre in the mountainous and hilly districts. He stated that the counting of PINs for proportional representation will begin once the counting of direct votes is complete. He stated that the army would be in the outer circle to secure the ballot boxes, the armed forces in the second circle, and the Nepal Police in the third circle. He said the army's helicopter would be used to collect the ballot boxes. He stated that the people should not be concerned about the collection of ballot boxes. Meanwhile, the General Election Observation Committee (GEOC) has released a report indicating that voters are excited about tomorrow's elections. The GEOC sent national observers to seven provinces to gather information on the pre-election situation. According to the report, 'The overall environment is peaceful despite intense competition between parties, and the implementation of the integrated security plan in the districts and election preparations are satisfactory from an administrative and security perspective.' According to the report, the distribution of voting materials and personnel at polling places nationwide has been finished on schedule. The majority of the polling places are found in ward office buildings and schools, and they are 'overall voter-friendly', according to Ganeshman Pradhan and Minen Shrestha, the committee's national observers. 'The on-site observation report of the national observer confirms that the election will be held in a peaceful , free and fear-free environment,' the report states. March 5, 2026 election at a glance Eligible voters who have their name on the voter list will be able to cast ballots in tomorrow's House of Representatives elections by presenting one of the five forms of identification or their voter ID card. The Election Commission has stated that one of the following is required if an eligible does not have an original copy of their voter ID card: • Nepali citizenship •Driver's licence • Passport •National identity card •Original land ownership certificate TOTAL CONSTITUENCIES AND VOTERS •There are 275 House seats in total - 165 first-past-the-post (FPTP) seats and 110 proportional representation (PR) seats. •There are 18,903,689 registered voters nationwide (9,663,358 men, 9,240,131 women and 200 others). •There are 23,112 polling stations, 10,967 polling centres and 143 temporary polling stations. FOR FPTP (FIRST-PAST-THE-POST) CANDIDATES: •The total number of candidates is 3,406 (3,017 men, 388 women and one 'other'). •Candidates by party include 2,263 party candidates and 1,143 independents. PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (PR) CANDIDATES •Total number of candidates: 3,135 (1,363 men and 1,772 women). Total registered political parties with the Election Commission: • There are 136 political parties registered with the Election Commission. • For FPTP, 65 political parties are using 61 election symbols. • For the PR, 63 political parties are using 57 election symbols. Campaign spending limits • For FPTP (depending on constituency): Rs 2.5 million to Rs 3.3 million. • For the proportional system (per candidate): Rs 200,000 Election security and staff • Nepali Army: 75,727 • Armed Police Force: 34,576 • Nepal Police: 75,787 • National Investigation Department: 1,921 • Election Police: 149,080 • Election staff deployed: 215,000 Observer organisations in the election • International: 4 • National: 39 Ballot paper • Total number of ballot papers: 42,251,200 • For FPTP: 20,323,000 ballots • For proportional: 20,830,000 ballots • Sample ballots: 1,058,200